Retail sector news
Month reprieve for retailers on used batteries
19/4/2009The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has welcomed one-month delay in the date on which retailers will be required to collect used batteries from consumers. Retail representatives had warned the Government that setting the date for 1 January 2010 would put huge pressure on shops already stretched at New Year.
The aim of the legislation, supported by retailers, is to reduce the number of batteries going to landfill. The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform announced that the new regulations will now apply to retailers from 1 February 2010.
Both retailers and the Government agree that the scheme must be easy, cheap and environmentally friendly to implement. The BRC has therefore also welcomed the Government's recognition that the current classification of used lithium batteries as 'hazardous waste' could stop retailers collecting them from stores in the same vehicles that are used to deliver goods to stores. Preventing this 'reverse haulage' would reduce the efficiency of the scheme.
British Retail Consortium Director of Business Environment Jane Milne said: "The Government has listened to us and shown it can be responsive and flexible. Retailers are happy to play their part in increasing battery recycling but in-store take-back mustn't exclude other means. All the evidence shows kerbside collections of recyclables are easiest for customers and produce the best results.
"I'm pleased the Government agrees that retailers should be allowed to combine collection from stores with deliveries. Categorising batteries as 'hazardous waste' mustn't prevent that."
